Foods Dieticians Stay Away From
By Sara Butler
Dieticians spend their days helping people make healthier choices when it comes to food. If you could go grocery shopping with one, you can probably guess there are a few things they will leave off their list every time. Here are a few things most dieticians would leave off their shopping lists – you should probably consider it, too!
Diet Desserts
Sugar-free cookies and cakes, low-fat pudding – these things are marketed to people who are concerned about their health, but they are far from healthy. That’s because having a variation of something you really want probably isn’t going to help calm your cravings. Instead, you’ll eat the inferior replacements along with a bunch of other things before you finally break down and have what you wanted in the first place.
If you want chocolate, then have some. Not an entire super-sized bar, but a serving of good quality chocolate (or dark!). That’s not even addressing the ingredients that go into making something “diet.” It’s best just to skip the diet desserts and go for the real thing -- in moderation, of course.
Cereal
Even the cereal, marketed as good for you, isn’t. And most of the time, that’s due to the fact that serving sizes of cereal are hard to stick to. A full bowl of cereal may satisfy, but it’s likely that bowl is actually two to three times the amount in a serving, so you’re adding on extra calories and overdoing it.
If you want a more satisfying breakfast, shoot for porridge or oatmeal for cereal. Eggs are even better! If you can find a breakfast combination that provides you with healthy fats and complex carbohydrates, you’ll be winning all day long.
Flavored Yogurt
Flavored yogurt, especially non-Greek yogurt, is not healthy for you. They can have as much sugar in them as a can of soda. You’re far better off buying plain Greek yogurt and jazzing it up with some fresh berries, honey, and/or nuts. It makes for a healthier and much more satisfying snack!
Soda
Speaking of soda, it doesn’t belong in your grocery cart -- ever. Carbonated sugary drinks offer no nutrients, only empty calories. There’s also some evidence that some of the ingredients in the soda can be harmful to your body. For instance, the phosphoric acid in soda can interrupt your body’s ability to absorb calcium. That can eventually weaken your bones. So, just say no to soda.
Shop like you're a nutritionist the next time you're at the store and leave these things off your list!
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